28 May (NucNet): Forty three percent of the public would support a government subsidy for the construction of new nuclear power in the UK – which compares with just 28 percent who said they would not, a poll by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME) has found.
According to the poll of more than 2,000 members of the public, 46 percent said they want new nuclear power stations to be built in the UK, compared with 29 percent who said they did not.
The IME said the poll results suggest that the public “want the government to take decisive action” to support nuclear power.
Dr Tim Fox, IME’s head of energy and environment, said the government has been reluctant to offer nuclear power developers an overt subsidy, partly out of fear of the public backlash. These poll results show that these fears could be unwarranted, he said.
He said: “The future of the UK new nuclear build programme is on a knife-edge. Without an agreed guaranteed commercially attractive long-term price for the electricity from new nuclear plants and a suitable source of investment finance, there can be no progress on building new UK reactors.”
Talks are continuing between EDF Energy and the government on the possible introduction of a “strike price” for electricity that a proposed new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point will generate. The price will be guaranteed for more than 30 years and subsidised through levies on consumer energy bills.
The IME said the government needs to provide more leadership and help on financing nuclear power if it is serious about a new build programme in the UK and the UK is to see the development of nuclear plants at sites like Hinkley Point, Sizewell and Wylfa.
Dr Fox said all low-carbon generating technologies require a high initial capital investment but have low operating costs. “Therefore, if the government is to encourage carbon reductions, developers need incentives which may appear as a subsidy at the start but, if structured correctly, could prove to be a good investment for the government in the long run.”
The poll asked people who supported the construction of new nuclear power in the UK their reasons for their support. Seventy percent said it was because nuclear power plants ensure a secure supply of electricity; 55 percent said because nuclear is low carbon; 50 percent because nuclear is reliable; 50 percent said because nuclear power plants provide jobs; while 43 percent said because nuclear power is cheaper than other forms of electricity generation.
Of the people who did not support the construction of new nuclear (less than one third of those polled), the majority (73 percent) said that this was because nuclear power is dangerous. Seventy percent said it was because of issues related to nuclear waste and less than a quarter cited cost as an issue.
The poll of 2,034 people was carried out by ICM, on behalf of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, on 3-6 May 2013.
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